Two of my readers actually sent in these ideas on [tag]youth baseball coaching philosophy[/tag]. I’ve included them for you below. Try these with your teams.

From Don…
Very early on in my [tag]coaching[/tag] career, I found that quirky little incentives really motivated my [tag]baseball[/tag] players and kept the [tag]practices[/tag] lively and enthusiastic. One such [tag]incentive[/tag] was to place an empty plastic milk jug on top of or just in front of the second base bag. During batting practice, if any [tag]batter[/tag] were to hit that jug with a batted ball, I would award a pizza to that player. Similarly, in the batting tunnel, I strung a plastic jug from the top of the tunnel netting, adjacent to where the [tag]pitcher[/tag] was tossing pitches. If the batter hit a liner that struck the jug, I would award a [tag]prize[/tag]. Prizes, of course, are up to the discretion of the coach, and are especially well-received when the entire [tag]team[/tag] benefits.

From Jon…
We just recently began our [tag]training[/tag] for the upcoming season. As a newly organized program, we are in the beginning stages of development. At the 1st practice session, our entire 1 ½ hour season was dedicated to the creation of “team rules” and goals. Each player was “involved” in the process to create the [tag]rules[/tag] and the [tag]goals[/tag]. We also discussed the daily evaluation and the “individual development plan”. By involving each player, the rules and goals took on an ownership approach for all involved – players and coaches.

Involving your players is essential for personal responsibility as well.